REFLECTIONS
KEEP LOOKING UP!
CHANGING THE WORLD
“Change,” which most of the people desired and voted for, is really speeding up. In fact, it has been
gaining momentum even before the 21st century began. The “change” in morals and bibles is
running amok. Currently we are being introduced to the latest “new bible,” called the Princess Diana
Bible. It is written for gays, stating that God joined two women in marriage and eliminating those
verses where God stated very plainly that homosexuality is sin. This is the first, but it won’t be the
last bible catering to the filth of the flesh.
“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1
The previous new bibles catered to the filth of the spirit by lashing out at the virgin birth, salvation by grace, the blood
atonement, the sinlessness of Jesus Christ, the deity of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the total depravity of man, salvation
by grace, etc. They kept publishing new bibles under the guise of “helping” the lay person “better understand” scripture. Even
the New King James bible has really helped (?) our understanding by using tunic for coat, denarius for penny, Syrtis sands for
quicksand and alabaster for red, etc. Can you believe that grown men with educations would substitute the word denarius for
penny and then advertise that they made the text easier to read?
By changing the word “purge” to “prune” in John 15:2, the NKJV teaches falling from grace, destroying the doctrine of the
security of the believer.
Why would they make a transliteration of the Greek “hades” and call it a translation? The translation is “hell.” In order to
acquire a copyright (to make a profit selling bibles) words had to be changed (the King James Bible was not copyrighted, the
“New” is.) The KJV used the word hell 54 times, 31 times in the Old Testament, 23 times in the New Testament. The New
KJV used the word hell only 32 times, 19 times in the Old Testament and 13 times in the New Testament. The big question is:
Why would these brilliant translators translate the word one way one time and another way another time? Why use the
transliteration “hades” in one verse and use the translation “hell” in another. This really makes a hodge-podge of cross
referencing. If you think for one minute these new translations are trying to help the average church member learn the truth
about anything, you also probably think the government has really helped our educational system. They print these bibles for
the same reason they come out with new car models…to sell them!
God is not the Author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33.) We have seen abortion, once illegal, become a “right.” We have
homosexuality, once perversion, being labeled “normal.” Anyone who holds to the traditional values and morals is now called
an “extremist.”
Our church leaders have abandoned Bible methods by claiming they do not work in the modern world. Are they saying that
God did not know where our world was headed when He gave instructions on how to do “church?” According to today’s
“monuments of wisdom,” God and His Son are really “hicks!” You would be hard pressed to hear the plan of salvation in any
of the messages of Hybels, Warren or Osteen. If you think I am being unfair, grab you a notebook and note the times words
like hell, salvation, the blood of Christ, the cross, damnation, death, sin or sins are mentioned. What you will find are words
like wealth, self-esteem, love, giving, health, discovering the great person you really are…diametrically opposed to what God
said about every individual on the face of this earth:
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [11] There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after
God. [12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
[13] Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: [14]
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: [15] Their feet are swift to shed blood: [16] Destruction and misery are in their
ways: [17] And the way of peace have they not known: [18] There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:10-18
You can either take God’s words for it or you can believe what Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller said about it.
All of this started 6000+ years ago when the serpent said:
“Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1)
The first word out of Satan’s mouth was positive…”yea.” Satan is always a “positive thinker.” (He tells you that you can get
by with it, that you are smarter than your parents, your teachers and the law.) Then he questioned God when speaking to
Eve. He questioned God’s love, God’s fairness and God’s honesty. When Adam and Eve listened to that, he carried it further
and called God a liar.
“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.” Genesis 3:4
Then Satan began to accuse God of withholding wisdom and knowledge from Adam and Eve.
Now we are down to the nitty-gritty…who are you going to believe, Adam? We have just seen the reason for another new
bible.
What is amazing about all of the new bibles…the people who translated, published, advertised and profited by them, still do
not believe them as God’s inspired, perfect word. You cannot find one preacher out of ten who believes that the book he
holds in his hand is the inerrant, God inspired words of truth. How many of you would enter any contest with varying
rulebooks? Listen…this is more than a contest…this is heaven or hell…mine and your destination into eternity. If I wasn’t
sure, I would investigate. Twenty-two years ago I went through this investigation; did I or did I not have God’s inerrant words?
It took some time but today I have confidence that the Book I am reading, teaching and preaching is God’s inerrant word. I
may not understand it all, but I believe it all. God said He gave it by inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16) and would keep it that way
(Luke 21:33.)
These sure would be terrible times without it.
Keep Looking Up!
In loving memory of Leland Maples